Thinking of building a new unRAID server; having not used unRAID since version 4 (remember when 400GB hard disks were cutting edge?), version 6 is a whole new world. I'd like to have perhaps up to 3 or 4 Plex streams, 2 or 3 VMs and try some gaming. I'd also like to have at least 10 SATA3 ports on the MB (it seems that most of the add-in cards are a little fiddly, or perhaps I just remember the problem posts). This new server will be as much a learning tool for me as anything else, and ultimately the priority is to be able to play around with VMs and ensure that there is the possibility of doing some gaming at some point with GPU passthrough.

 

I have lifted this from another thread:

For the best possible experience with VMs and GPU pass through, we recommend either to use a Xeon E5 processor (pricing starts at ~$217 MSRP for these) or an Extreme Edition desktop processor.  These have ACS capabilities.

 

So I looked at various options for these CPUs, which seem to come down to LGA2011-v3 motherboards. Here in Singapore, the choice is a little limited, and the pricing is probably quite different from the USA (generally more expensive), but it boils down to this: either an X99 mb or an LGA2011-v3 mb with a server chipset, which here pretty much limits me to Supermicro.

 

So if I go with an X99, probably an i7-5930K is a decent choice, or else a Xeon E5 series. But since memory prices for DDR4 ECC RAM and DDR4 unbuffered RAM are pretty similar, I might as well go for ECC RAM, and therefore a Xeon E5. The cost of an X99 mb plus i7-5930K is similar to the cost of a decent Supermicro mb and Xeon E5, so I thought why not just go with a server chipset and if possible get the benefit of IPMI?

 

Initially I thought of a Supermicro X10SRL-F plus Xeon E5-1650v3, but the only local distributor I can find has no stock and I would have to wait two weeks. Then I thought what about a dual socket mb, the Supermicro X10DRL-I and a Xeon E5-2620v3? This is a little cheaper, but also no stock. Based on what they do have in stock, one possibility is a Supermicro X10SRi-F with a E5-2630v3. This is the most expensive combo, but for about an extra US$100 I would be getting 2 extra cores. The E5-2630v3 is not quite as fast as the E5-1650v3 (Passmark 12869 vs. 13531), but it's 85W vs. 140W.

 

This puts me at around double my original budget  , but IF I want the smoothest VM + GPU passthrough experience, this looks like it might be a logical conclusion.

 

Would welcome any comments/opinions on this.

You've done good research and laid out your options pretty well.  I can't comment on the specific mobos you are looking at (haven't used those myself), but I think the logic you are using to select the e5 is sound.

Thanks, jonp.

 

It looks like the only differences between the X10SRL-F and the X10SRi-F (which is slightly more expensive) is that the X10SRL-F has an extra PCI-e x16 slot, while the X10SRi-F has a different Intel GbE controller that allows VT-c (but I have no idea if that is of practical use to me). I think the X10SRL-F is the better choice as it will let me run two graphics cards if I ever get that far.

If I was building today that's what I would choose. X10SRL-F & E5-1650v3, it's a good choice.

I'm wanting to build a E5 vm rig also but i'm kind of trying to hold out till skylake-EP when Intel moves to a brand new platform.  Also it should have onboard 10GbE which I really want if i'm building a new server.  It's not super urgent that I upgrade right away since I already have e3-1246v3 & X10SLH-F.

E5 Xeon is definitely the way to go when it comes to the VM world. Plus it will more than likely play nice with VMWare hardware pass through if you ever decided to go down that road with the hardware in the future.